CoastalCarolinaUniversity’s men’s track and field team will compete in the Joe Hilton Carolina Fast Times Track and Field Meet on Saturday, April 10 in Chapel Hill, N.C. On Friday, April 9, the Chanticleers will take four hammer throwers to the Carolina’s Cup in Rock Hill, S.C., due to Carolina Fast Times not hosting a hammer throw competition. The Chanticleers will take 11 athletes this weekend to compete in eight events. The rest of the team will enjoy some rest before the Big South Championships in CharlestonS.C., on Thursday-Saturday April 15-17. Coastal is looking forward to the return of Jack Hutchison this weekend in the 110-meter hurdles after a severe hamstring injury put him out of competition the last few meets.

WATSON BIG SOUTH ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

CoastalCarolinaUniversity’s men’s track and field redshirt-junior Jacques Watson was named the Big South Conference Choice Hotels Men’s Track and Field Athlete of the Week, April 7. The Sumter, S.C., native broke his own school and Big South record in the high jump, clearing 7’ 4.5” (2.25m) to finish third at the 2010 Pepsi Florida Relays on Saturday, April 3 in Gainesville, Fla. The two-time NCAA qualifier is currently tied for second in the NCAA and leads the Big South by 7.75 inches. Watson is currently tied for fourth in the world and third in the U.S. outdoor rankings.

RECORD-BREAKING WEEKEND

Coastal Carolina men’s track and field had record-breaking and career-best performances last weekend at the Pepsi Florida Relays and Duke Asics Invitational on Friday and Saturday, April 2-3. The Chanticleers’ redshirt- junior Jacques Watson broke his own Big South and school record set last year at the Pepsi Florida Relays by clearing 7’4.50 in the high jump, taking third in the event. Not only did Watson perform well, the 4x100 relay team of Christopher Lawson, Lenny Steed, Alex Levy and Jerome St. Bernard broke the Coastal Carolina record, clocking 40.98, taking 14th in the event. Jason Jensen achieved a personal-best 196’6” in the hammer throw, reaching fourth place on the all-time Coastal records. Jason Flanagan came close to a personal-best 223’7” in the javelin as he took third in the highly competitive event.Also reaching a personal-best was Bryan Fill in the javelin with a toss of 191’10”, and Jacob Scheuer tied a personal-best in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 54.75 at Florida.

CONSISTENCY FROM THE 4X100

The 4x100-meter relay teams have had dominant performances in the last three meets. In the Pepsi Florida Relays, the relay team Christopher Lawson, Lenny Steed, Alex Levy and Jerome St. Bernard set a school record by running 40.98, while taking 14 in the event. The team sits in first place in the Big South and 57th in the NCAA. In the CCU/Shamrock Invitational, the combination of Jack Hutchison, Ryan Edlich, Lawson and Steed finished in second place with a time of 41.02. The following week, the 4x100 team of Corey Jameson, Edlich, St. Bernard and Steed came in third place at the South Carolina Weems Baskin Relays with a time of 41.70, ahead of Cincinnati and South CarolinaState.

McCARTHY AND KLING WIN AT WEEMS BASKIN RELAYS

Runners Jamie McCarthy and Kyle Kling won their events at the Weems Baskin Relays on March 27 with season-best performances. Redshirt-senior McCarthy won the 800-meter run with a time of 1:56.34, while Kling won the 1,500 meters with a time of 3:58.07. It is the first event McCarthy won this season and the second for Kling as he won the 5,000 meter at the CCU/Shamrock Invitational.

FLANAGAN DOES IT AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN...

Sophomore Jason Flanagan’s hard offseason work has been paying off, as he has won every javelin event he has participated in this season, along with beating his career-high throw each week. Last season, Flanagan threw a then personal-best 191’2”. This season, Flanagan won javelin in the first meet of the season, Battle of the Beaches, by throwing a personal-best 212’10”. The next week, Flanagan won the Coastal Carolina Invitational by throwing a 217’8”. In the CCU/Shamrock Invitational, Flanagan topped his personal-best for a third time by throwing 224’. Flanagan has improved by two meters every week and if he continues his strong performances he could break the Coastal Carolina record held by All-American Thomas Jordan, who threw 232’6” in 2004.

SOPHOMORE CLASS LEADS THE CCU/SHAMROCK INVITATIONAL

In the last home meet of the season, the Chanticleers sophomore class led the way in the CCU/Shamrock Invitational. In the hammer throw, Jason Jensen took third in a very competitive field, throwing a personal-best 193’9”. Jason Flanagan continued his winning ways by defeating the number one thrower in the nation from East Carolina with a personal-best throw of 224’. In the running events, Kyle Kling won the 5000-meter run with a personal-best time of 14:30.98 in the event. Also highlighting the meet was the 4x100 meter relay team of Jack Hutchison, Ryan Edlich, Christopher Lawson and Lenny Steed, running a season-best 41.02 and taking third in the event. The time is currently is second on the all-time Coastal Carolina record list.

KLING REWRITES HIS OWN RECORD

Last season at the Coastal Carolina Invitational, sophomore Kyle Kling set a 3000-meter record with a time of 8:36.31. Only topping himself this season, Kling set the record again in the same event with a time of 8:33.15, shaving nearly three seconds off of his previous time.

GRAVES JUMPS TO WIN

Junior Ross Graves jumped for the stars as he cleared a personal-best 6’8.75” in the high jump, tying for first in the Coastal Carolina Invitational. Graves tied with Tony Brown of Big South-foe Radford in the event. With Graves’ jump, he is now second in the Big South only to teammate Jacques Watson and third in the NCAA.

HUTCHISON’S FAST START

Senior Jack Hutchison not only won his event in 110-meter hurdles at the Battle of the Beaches VI, but he broke his own school record with a time of 14.10 by more than three-tenths of a second from his time last seaosn at 14.44. Hutchison also sits in a pretty in 18th in the NCAA rankings.

HACKER HACKS AWAY HIS TIME

Junior Max Hacker ran a personal-best 8:50.95 in the 3000 meters, winning the event and helping the Chanticleers clinch the win over UNC Wilmington in the Battle of the Beaches VI with help from sophomore Kyle Kling running an 8:51.59 in second.

CHANTICLEERS PARTICIPATE IN THREE INDOOR MEETS

HOKIE INVITATIONAL

The men’s track and field team participated in the first day of Virginia Tech Indoor Invitational on Friday, January 15 in Blacksburg, Va. The Chanticleers sent 14 athletes that weekend, with three placing in the top-15 on the first day. Redshirt-junior Jacques Watson highlighted the day for the Chants by winning the high jump event with a mark of 7’00.25”, tying a career-best in indoor. Senior Jack Hutchison had a great start to the season, placing eighth in a very competitive 60-meter hurdle final with a time of 8.08. In the weight throw, sophomore Jason Jensen had a team-best fourth- place finish with a throw of 57-05.00”. Sophomore Corey Jameson had a strong showing, running a 6.99 in the 60-meter dash to take a 15th-place finish out of 34 participants. Junior Ross Graves also participated in the event, jumping a 6’04.75”.

SYKES-SABOCK CHALLENGE CUP

The Coastal Carolina men’s track and field team finished ninth with six top-10 finishers in a highly competitive Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup on Saturday, Feb. 6. Jason Jensen highlighted the first day by winning the weight throw, clearing a mark of 61’11”. Jensen beat his personal-best by nearly four feet. In the 60-meter hurdles, Jack Hutchison tied for third place with a time of 8.24. Kyle Kling set a school record in the 3000 meters with a time of 8:34.58, finishing in 12th place.The Chanticleers’ distance relay team of John Heron, Travis Owens, Stevie Brunson and Kling took fifth place with a 10:20.95 on the first day.On the second day of competition, Jacques Watson placed second in the high jump, clearing 7’1.75”. Burton Jones led the Chants in the triple jump, placing sixth, 46’11’.

CLEMSON TIGER PAW INVITATIONAL

The Coastal Carolina men’s track and field team participated in the Clemson Tiger Paw Invitational on Friday and Saturday Feb. 12-13 in Clemson, S.C. On the first day of competition, the Chanticleers had 11 top-ten finishers and six in the top-five. Highlighting day one was Jacques Watson winning the high jump, clearing 6’.10.25”. Ross Graves placed ninth with a jump of 6’4.25”. Continuing success in the field events, Jason Jensen threw for 58’.8” in the weight throw, taking fourth place. In the long jump, Burton Jones grabbed ninth place with a jump of 21’10.75” meters. In the running events, Jack Hutchison took third place in the finals of the 60-meter hurdles, running a time of 8.10. Corey Jameson qualified for the finals of the 60-meter dash and finished in fifth place with a time of 6.87. In the 500-meter dash, Stevie Brunson and Jacob Scheuer placed third and fourth, respectively. Brunson ran for 1:06.94, while Scheuer followed at 1:07.22. In the second day of events, the Chanticleers kept rolling along with three top-10 finishes. The distance medley relay squad was the highlight of the day as the team of Heron, Williams, Tymzcak and Kling took second place just behind Samford with a time of 10:17.51. The Chanticleers continued in the mid-distance relay events with Levy taking eighth place in the 300-meter dash with a time of 36.59. In the field portion of the day, Burton Jones took second in the triple jump with a leap of 47’8.75”.